Queen's Muscat Oolong

Hovers between 87-90 for me. I loved the sachets, and so did my mom. I love muscat flavors in general, and Lupicia doesn’t disappoint with fruit flavors in tea. I’m impressed with the staying power on this one, and even though it’s gotten colder, the tart muscat grape taste with the floral oolong and white tea feel great on my throat and palette. I actually like this one more than the darker oolong version, which surprises me since this one tastes a little bit fresher. At the same time, I’d really underleaf this one because the flavor is strong. It gets astringent with too many leaves. The sachets are forgiving, but I use them in 12 oz cups so they have room to breath.

I so do not regret getting this one.

This one reminded me of a purple grape bubblegum I used to chew as a kid. I was expecting a more natural grape flavor but the artificial grape smell and taste was pretty strong here. I brewed this one grandpa style using water off the boil and topping off with cooler water later. The grape bubble gum flavoring was up front and center. Sweet with a floral hint from the Baozhong base. As it cools, the flavoring softens a bit turning into a kyoho grape sweetness that contrasts nicely against the light vegetal backdrop. A hint of perfume mingled with grape juice as the tea further settles.

Once my cup was 1/3 full, I topped off with the barely hot water left in the kettle (too lazy to re-heat the water). This lightened the tea considerably and I finally tasted a bit of the promised muscat grape flavor.

Cold brew was enjoyable and tasted similar to the hot brewed tea, but more one-dimensional.

Lupicia’s grape and melon flavoring are just unparalleled, so it’s always such a treat to enjoy this blend. A perfect balance of vegetal, lilac oolong and juicy white grapes.

Just a quick note on this one. I’m not sure what to think of this one honestly. I had it yesterday and didn’t take notes (and working on a report at the same time). It was very unique. I liked it but not sure why lol. Muscat grape is the predominant flavor. It was astringent and slightly bitter. I will definitely revisit this one soon to give it a more thorough analysis. If anything, to figure why it confused me so. :P

5g, 200ml, 212°F, 3 steeps, 2.5m., 3m, 3.5m

This is one of my all time favorites … can pull me out of a bad mood and just make me happy.

Its been a really long week. I am really, really glad it’s Friday.
I killed this off yesterday. I like this oolong, but next summer I think I’ll get Melon Oolong instead, as I like it a bit more than I like the Muscat.
The fruity oolong is a summer tea in my mind, so I’m glad that it’s sipped down before September.
I am starting to twitch. The cupboard is tiny, and I am ready for autumnal teas!

Amongst the other popular Lupicia oolongs, I feel like this one is criminally underrated.

The customer service in Japan is usually second to none, and it was no different in their Lupicia stores. I had Queen’s Muscat Oolong (and a few others) brewed up especially for me and we sat down together for an informal tea ceremony.

What caught me first was the scent of the dry leaf when I was making my rounds sniffing almost every tea available in the shop. I knew I just had to try it.

Sometimes tasting a tea can actually put me off buying it because it doesn’t live up to the scent. Not so with this one. One sip and I was sold.

Not only is it delicious and juicy like a muscat grape, but it also had some creaminess underneath – the kind you get with high quality oolongs.

Argh. So good. Bet it would be addictive as hell as an iced tea.